La Liga (Spanish League) Prediction Thread 2025/26

[giorgione]

In terms of dependency, Haaland is more dependent on having the ball passed to him without having to hold the ball for much of the game. He clearly has the ability to finish if his teammates continue to trust him to score goals as long as the ball is passed to him when the team is building attacks against the opponent. So, for now, anyone who wants Haaland needs teammates who are willing to fully support him to achieve the best possible results, as most goals are the result of teamwork, even if a small percentage are by chance.

Haaland is a striker and we all know it, we don't find out now, but the characteristic of these strikers and others is that they never pass the ball and in fact they have very few assists because they are unacceptably selfish and i always want to score them, history has changed a lot.

[Mayor of ogba]

>>snip<<

Haaland is the kind of striker who needs a good midfield that supplies him with balls. Also, ball possession is very important, and this is why he has performed so well in Manchester City in some seasons. Without that, the team starts to appear like they are one man short.

If you know Real Madrid's style of play, ball possession is mostly not part of it. Haaland may not be a perfect choice for Real Madrid for that matter.

The Real Madrid I know has ball possession in most of the matches they have played, so I disagree with you that ball possession isn't part of Real Madrid. I don't even think Real Madrid will be interesting in signing Erling Haaland because they already have Mbappe, and Mbappe is consistently scoring goals for Real Madrid and helping Real Madrid win matches.

[cande86]

Wether you agree to this or not, I just want you to understand that for any striker to strive, he needs the services coming in, and erling haaland can't do anything if the balls are not coming.
As for the possession base team, you are actually right, I don't think that it's necessary to get the best out of him, what he just needs is the passes in those key areas of the opposition halves.

I call him the beast because he is capable of destroying any team in the world as long as those services are coming in, so I believe that he can do well in any team he find himself that have players that plays to his strength.

the work of the service that they have to do in the passive phase or not in possession is fundamental, in that case the part that Erling Haaland has to do is done by other players, but in an ideal team the forwards should also do it and not just wait for the ball to arrive to them to score a goal.

[verdinio]

There are rumors about a new coach candidate for Madrid. Unai Emery is the latest name currently rumored to be considered as one of Madrid's coaching candidates. 
Unai Emery is the coach of Aston Villa, who has shown quite a good performance this season. Rumor has it that the club management has contacted Unai Emery's side, but there is no further news regarding what will happen next. 
Coaching Madrid is both a challenge and pressure for a coach.

I think that the bench of Ream Madrid right now is too hot to be taken by someone who can do well, there is still a lot of tension there at that level, and the players are still not mentally well, you can see from what they did against Benfica, If i were a coach i would wait a bit.

[m4r1o]

How can two players have red card in one match, that's unprofessional about them, there used to be this period when Real Madrid will be down by 2 goals only for them to come back and score 3, Benzema has done this before many times in the same Champions league but you see this boys, they are bunch of unprofessional players and it's good they didn't win it else this is going to be their behavior anytime they have a difficult time.

If a professional team like Real Madrid or even Barcelona, for example, receives two red cards, it means we're at the end of our tether.
Only the provincial teams from the lower categories finish the match with 9 men.
From a professional perspective, this is unacceptable.

[moneystery]

I understand Benfica is not a small team and I am not even going to take them to be any of those teams they can mess with, but this is real madrid we are talking, they are not a team Benfica should normally have this walkover them unless they lack form which is the real case scenario. You can't get a 4 goals trash on Madrid so easily, at least they should have work harder and all you have is Mbappe's two goals which could have been better with more goals to fill up the goal gaps existing in between the two teams. This Real Madrid case is what many fans and analysts and commentators will be talking about till the next couple of weeks because of their bad decisions.

Without Mourinho, I don't think Benfica would be able to beat Real Madrid, but here we are talking about Mourinho, 'the special one'. He understands the ins and outs of Real Madrid and is aware of the situation they are currently facing-- he also understands that the Real Madrid players are not gelling well at the moment and that only Mbappe can be relied upon, so he is using this to his advantage to devise the best strategy for Benfica to beat Real Madrid. I can say that Mourinho is very clever in this regard and is able to take advantage of Real Madrid's weaknesses.

[hyudien]

the work of the service that they have to do in the passive phase or not in possession is fundamental, in that case the part that Erling Haaland has to do is done by other players, but in an ideal team the forwards should also do it and not just wait for the ball to arrive to them to score a goal.

Modern football has evolved into a more pragmatic game, whereas in the past strikers were only focused on scoring goals, acting as a target man waiting for a pass inside the opponent's penalty box, nowadays strikers are expected to also contribute defensively, often dropping back to help their own team, they also need speed and mobility, fortunately Haaland has these qualities, which could make him a valuable asset for Madrid. The key for Madrid will be to find the right partner to complement Haaland should they decide to bring him to the Bernabeu.

[Solodoski]

This is one very good  point I can and will agree to any day anytime, Haaland is a wonderful striker and that is very clear, no player or persons is an island so they somehow will need some form of support. I remember when the likes of Kevin De Bryune was in Manchester City, we could see the brilliance in Haaland's performance literally almost every game but after his exit, it has been different.  If Madrid wants Haaland, they should be sure to have a good midfielder and one who will supply him as much as possible if they want the best fromhim.

When will Real Madrid realize that what they need is not a striker, rather defense and midfield. They have a better striker, who I think is better than Haaland, so why are they interested in Haaland.

In Real Madrid I will choose Mbappe as the key striker over Haaland. Mbappe can create goal scoring chances, he can also score solo goal, without the help of anyone. While Haaland, need players around him to create those chance for him.

[SilverCryptoBullet]

I understand Benfica is not a small team and I am not even going to take them to be any of those teams they can mess with, but this is real madrid we are talking, they are not a team Benfica should normally have this walkover them unless they lack form which is the real case scenario. You can't get a 4 goals trash on Madrid so easily

Benfica has their good history and they are a club similarly to Sevilla with ability to find talented young players, grow them up, and sell them as star players to biggest clubs in Europe. Generally they have maintained both good finance for their club and acceptable good performances over many seasons but with Jose Mourinho in this season, Benfica is one of most interesting underdogs.

Without Mourinho, I don't think Benfica would be able to beat Real Madrid, but here we are talking about Mourinho, 'the special one'. He understands the ins and outs of Real Madrid and is aware of the situation they are currently facing-- he also understands that the Real Madrid players are not gelling well at the moment and that only Mbappe can be relied upon, so he is using this to his advantage to devise the best strategy for Benfica to beat Real Madrid. I can say that Mourinho is very clever in this regard and is able to take advantage of Real Madrid's weaknesses.

And there is another condition, if Real Madrid still had Xabi Alonso, they would have played better and did not lose this match, especially losing the match with two goal difference. Xabi Alonso had troubles with the club but generally he managed the club well enough, and better than what Arbeloa did so far as a temporary head coach.

Jose Mourinho joined Benfica with a drama, after losing a Champions League playoff match with Fenerbahce against Benfica, weeks later he was appointed as a head coach of Benfica. What kind of dramatic appointment and return to Champions League after many years for Jose Mourinhoe, and now he just made another drama with Benfica by beating Real Madrid in a very emotional way. Just some minutes, from trying to secure 3 - 2 result, he forced his player to find a fourth goal and Trubin appeared to score a decisive goal for Benfica.

[Volgastallion]

Jose Mourinho joined Benfica with a drama, after losing a Champions League playoff match with Fenerbahce against Benfica, weeks later he was appointed as a head coach of Benfica. What kind of dramatic appointment and return to Champions League after many years for Jose Mourinhoe, and now he just made another drama with Benfica by beating Real Madrid in a very emotional way. Just some minutes, from trying to secure 3 - 2 result, he forced his player to find a fourth goal and Trubin appeared to score a decisive goal for Benfica.

Yes is crazy how Mourinho reach this stage since like you pointed out at the start of the season he was take out of the Champions by this Benfica when he was coaching the turkish team, and now look what he do, im really happy for him he really needs a win like this to have again that fire inside him.

About this round of LaLiga i only expect the same dish of all this days in Real Madrid, which is Mbappe scoring.

[bastisisca]

the league is truly exciting

Team	Point	GF	GS
Barcellona	52	57	22
Real Madrid	51	45	17
Atletico Madrid	44	38	17
Villarreal	41	37	21
Espanyol	34	25	25
Betis Siviglia	32	34	27
Celta Vigo	32	29	23
Real Sociedad	27	29	29
Osasuna	25	24	25
Girona	25	21	35
Elche	24	29	29
Siviglia	24	28	33
Athletic Bilbao	24	20	30
Valencia	23	22	33
Alaves	22	18	26
Rayo Vallecano	22	17	28
Getafe	22	16	27
Maiorca	21	24	33
Levante	17	24	34
Real Oviedo	13	11	34

[1kodumtek7]

What Mourinho did was kind of saving the day for Benfica against Real Madrid. Their opponent was already safe in top 24 and fighting for top 8. Benfica needed to take bigger risks and it paid out for them.

However I don't expect the same thing in playoffs. Real Madrid should be moving on. By the way this round's fixture for them in the La Liga is Vallecano. It shouldn't be a big deal to beat them home.

[giammangiato]

And there is another condition, if Real Madrid still had Xabi Alonso, they would have played better and did not lose this match, especially losing the match with two goal difference. Xabi Alonso had troubles with the club but generally he managed the club well enough, and better than what Arbeloa did so far as a temporary head coach.

No mate don't say that  , that Real Madrid fans hated Xabi the management couldn't wait to cut him off.
I supported the work of Xabi who undoubtedly did his best, in my opinion he should have finished the season by now and not changed it with the current competitions, Real Madrid seems to have lost lucidity.
Unfortunately they didn't give him confidence until the end and now they are mourning the consequences of a worse result for the team's overall performance.

[m4r1o]

Yes, Real Madrid will not be playing Inter Milan, but imagine even if they do, Inter Milan are not so much in good shape like they were in previous Champions League season, if Real Madrid can end this bullshit performance and put themselves together, majorly on their defense line, they are capable of defeating Inter Milan. Although, since they won't be meeting, there is no reason to further discuss, we should be looking at the next opponent in this next stage, already i'm aware Real Madrid won't be getting kicked out at this level.

Real Madrid can no longer face anyone, having exited the Champions League, taking four slaps in the face from Benfica.
Inter are still holding up, they're not the team i support, but credit to the Italian teams who are holding up.
Next season, if i am lucky, we'll see if Roma can do well.

[bastisisca]

Genuinely speaking, I wasn't expecting this from Athletic bilbao. They started the league very well this season and it looked like they could battle for a Champions League spot with Villarreal, but currently, they have completely collapsed to the point where they are actually making Sevilla's disaster of a season look stable by comparison. They are currently sitting in 12th place in The league table, and now Osasuna, Real Sociedad, and even Sevilla are ahead of them.

True, i also remember that they started the championship well and now they have dropped a lot.
What happened, maybe they gave too much physically in the first part of the championship and got exhausted and tired
It could be, it happens to small teams

[jakdanyel]

Real Madrid can no longer face anyone, having exited the Champions League, taking four slaps in the face from Benfica.
Inter are still holding up, they're not the team i support, but credit to the Italian teams who are holding up.
Next season, if i am lucky, we'll see if Roma can do well.

We will see about those slaps when Real Madrid face Benfica again in playoff round.    I already don't feel good for Benfica because they wouldn't see it in even their dreams again.

I will still say this though. Real Madrid should have continued with Xabi Alonso. But instead the chairman chose to act with frustration and brought Arbeloa. Honestly Arbeloa is kind of a noname manager beside Xabi Alonso so it is the most meaningless choice.

[letteredhub]

I understand Benfica is not a small team and I am not even going to take them to be any of those teams they can mess with, but this is real madrid we are talking, they are not a team Benfica should normally have this walkover them unless they lack form which is the real case scenario. You can't get a 4 goals trash on Madrid so easily, at least they should have work harder and all you have is Mbappe's two goals which could have been better with more goals to fill up the goal gaps existing in between the two teams. This Real Madrid case is what many fans and analysts and commentators will be talking about till the next couple of weeks because of their bad decisions.

Benfica is one of the biggest team in Portugal and aside that Benfica was more determined than Real Madrid on that night and were more intentional in their attack utilising every goal scoring opportunity they found.

Another major factor that helped Benfica triumph over Real Madrid was the fact that Jose maurinho understood how weak the Spanish side are recently, especially after sacking their coach and he consciously took advantage of all the loop holes that were in the Madrid squad such as the 2 red cards conceded by Real Madrid which further weakened the strength of the team.

[Adams0001]

Benfica is one of the biggest team in Portugal and aside that Benfica was more determined than Real Madrid on that night and were more intentional in their attack utilising every goal scoring opportunity they found.

Another major factor that helped Benfica triumph over Real Madrid was the fact that Jose maurinho understood how weak the Spanish side are recently, especially after sacking their coach and he consciously took advantage of all the loop holes that were in the Madrid squad such as the 2 red cards conceded by Real Madrid which further weakened the strength of the team.

The way Benfica play against Real Madrid they really deserve to achieve the three point and they have a good coach that can really performed better when facing real madrid because he as coach the team before and he knows how to deal with them and now they will face each other in the playoff and that will be very difficult match for Real Madrid to win, but since is home and away they can get the opportunity to defeat them, because i can't believe that Benfica can eliminate madrid from the Champions League since from the playoff.

let see how the games will be and know who will qualify to the next round of the Champions League this season, since they won't play the competition now they will focus in the laliga and challenge Barcelona to get the chance to top them in the league table. This coming weekend real madrid are facing Rayo Vallecano at home and they need to achieve the three point.

[Smack That Ace]

Without Mourinho, I don't think Benfica would be able to beat Real Madrid, but here we are talking about Mourinho, 'the special one'. He understands the ins and outs of Real Madrid and is aware of the situation they are currently facing-- he also understands that the Real Madrid players are not gelling well at the moment and that only Mbappe can be relied upon, so he is using this to his advantage to devise the best strategy for Benfica to beat Real Madrid. I can say that Mourinho is very clever in this regard and is able to take advantage of Real Madrid's weaknesses.

Mourinho is an experienced coach. He has been able to identify Madrid's problems very well. And that is why Benfica, despite being a relatively weak squad, have dominated and won against giants like Madrid. Benfica's performance has surprised us all. Honestly, no one expected such a result.

Madrid is not in a good situation right now. The bonding between the players is weak. The new manager Arbeloa is inexperienced. He does not have enough experience to manage a squad like Madrid. If Madrid cannot find an experienced coach quickly, they will face bigger problems in the future. They were too hasty to fire Alonso. Madrid could have given Alonso a little more chance.

[RockBell]

I understand Benfica is not a small team and I am not even going to take them to be any of those teams they can mess with, but this is real madrid we are talking, they are not a team Benfica should normally have this walkover them unless they lack form which is the real case scenario. You can't get a 4 goals trash on Madrid so easily, at least they should have work harder and all you have is Mbappe's two goals which could have been better with more goals to fill up the goal gaps existing in between the two teams. This Real Madrid case is what many fans and analysts and commentators will be talking about till the next couple of weeks because of their bad decisions.

Without Mourinho, I don't think Benfica would be able to beat Real Madrid, but here we are talking about Mourinho, 'the special one'. He understands the ins and outs of Real Madrid and is aware of the situation they are currently facing-- he also understands that the Real Madrid players are not gelling well at the moment and that only Mbappe can be relied upon, so he is using this to his advantage to devise the best strategy for Benfica to beat Real Madrid. I can say that Mourinho is very clever in this regard and is able to take advantage of Real Madrid's weaknesses.

Mourinho did the unexpected to real Madrid because from the beginning we have a good feeling that Real Madrid should be able to win, and this game have make a lot of people to be talking because they were not expecting real Madrid to lose that game it is one of the most disappointing game they played and they are just doing a lot showing there lack of them not been serious, and Mourinho was able to play them perfectly well, and by now I feel they should just let Benfica be because real Madrid, does not have anything to offer there players, and Mourinho was able to discover the weaknesses of real Madrid and it was used properly.